Portable Toilet Seat for Children

ABSTRACT

A child&#39;s toilet seat which has handles for a child to grip when on the toilet seat and additional handles for an adult to use to remove the seat from a toilet bowl. 
     The toilet seat is in two sections, the sections being joined by a pair of hinges which allows the seat to be folded before and after use.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a portable potty toilet seat designed for small children.

2. Description of the Prior Art

A conventional toilet seat is typically dimensioned for the convenience of adults. The dimensions of the seat and the aperture therein are too large for younger children, especially babies. This is obviously not safe and may hinder children from transitioning from a potty to the conventional toilet seat.

U.S. Pat. No. 6,952,842 to Sutton describes prior art devices that attempt to fashion a toilet seat for children from conventional toilet seat assemblies and the invention disclosed purports to improve upon these devices.

What is desired is to provide a portable toilet seat specifically designed for use by children which is lightweight, provides a mechanism that allows the child to grip the seat minimizing the fear otherwise encountered by the child because of the height of the seat above the floor and a way for adults to avoid touching the seat when necessary.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention provides a child toilet seat which can be folded in half so the seat is easily portable and wherein the underside of the plastic seat is hollowed out to reduce the weight of the seat.

The seat has grip handles on each side providing the child with a sense of safety and stability since his/her legs are typically too short to reach the floor and the height of an adult fixture may cause the child to fear heights as a result.

Lifting knobs are located at the front and rear of the toilet seat for sanitary purposes whereby a person can avoid touching the seat itself when lifting or folding the seat.

The present invention thus provides a portable child's toilet seat which is lightweight, has handles which enable a child to grip the seat and additional handles allowing an adult to remove the seat while avoiding touching the seat itself. The seat is also foldable thus enabling the seat to be easily stored.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

For a better understanding of the present invention as well as other objects and further features thereof, reference is made to the following description which is to be read in conjunction with the accompanying drawing therein:

FIG. 1 is a top plan view of the toilet seat of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of the seat shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of the seat shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is a right side plan view of the seat shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of the seat shown in FIG. 1;

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along line 6-6 of FIG. 1 with a portion of a toilet bowl;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along line 7-7 of FIG. 1 with a portion of a toilet bowl;

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along line 8-8 of FIG. 1; and

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view showing the child toilet seat of the present invention folded.

DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Referring now to FIG. 1, a top plan view of the toilet seat 10 of the present invention is illustrated; seat 10 is of a conventional shape, having an outer, oval shaped shell 12, a seat portion 14 and an inner open area 16. A front lifting knob 18 and rear lifting knob 20 are provided to enable an adult, for example, to remove seat 10 from a toilet bowl 22 (see FIGS. 6 and 7) and avoid any contamination that may be present on seat portion 14. Handles 24 and 26 are attached to seat 10 and enables a child to grip the handles and provide a sense of stability since the child's feet are not long enough to touch the floor on which bowl 22 rests. Reference numerals 28 and 30 represent the hind legs of the turtle.

In order to make the seat more comforting to children, the seat is shaped in the form of a turtle although various other shapes may be used.

FIG. 2 is a rear plan view of toilet seat 10 and illustrates bumper post 32, and cylindrical raised spacers 34 and 36.

FIG. 3 is a front plan view of toilet seat 10 and FIG. 4 is a right side plan view of a toilet seat 10 showing a plastic hinge 40.

FIG. 5 is a bottom plan view of seat 10 and illustrates hinges 40 and 42, the hinges enabling the toilet seat 10 to fold in half along fold line 41. The folding feature allows toilet seat 10 to be carried more easily and to require less space for storing it in a vehicle, closet, etc.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view along line 6-6 showing post member 46 and seat latch 48. A drip shield 50 is provided to minimize the possibility that waste material will escape from the toilet bowl. Design plates 52 are placed along the circumference of seat 14.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view along line 7-7 of FIG. 1 showing seat 10 resting on toilet bowl 22.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view along line 8-8 of FIG. 1 and illustrates the curvature of seat 14 and design member 52 mounted to seat 14.

FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating toilet seat 10 folded into its compact position.

The present invention thus enables children to feel secure while using a toilet seat and provides features that allow adults to fold the seat after use so that the seat could be easily stored in a vehicle, closet, etc.

While the invention has been described with reference to its preferred embodiments, it will be understood by those skilled in the art that various changes may be made and equivalents may be substituted for elements thereof without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention. In addition, many modifications may be made to adapt a particular situation or material to the teachings of the invention without departing from its essential teachings. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A child toilet seat assembly comprising: a toilet seat having front, rear and side portions for mounting on a toilet bowl; first and second handles secured to said toilet seat at said front and rear portions; a third handle mounted to one side of said toilet seat; a fourth handle mounted to the other side of said toilet seat; and hinge members mounted to the bottom surface of said toilet.
 2. The toilet seat of claim 1 wherein said front portion is joined to said rear portion by said hinge members.
 3. The toilet seat of claim 2 wherein said toilet seat has a turtle like shape. 